Indigo Dye
by Nostacholy
Summary: How many endless nights must Kagami spend before the indigo grief vanish? Will Aomine ever atone for the sin he causes to Kagami? Now that indigo had found crimson, the wheel of fate began spinning. And the coldness of 10 years ago returned once more. Featuring AoKaga, AkaKuro, KiKasa, MidoTaka, MuraMuro.
1. Cold

**Greeting, everyone!**

**I think I have fallen deeply in love with AoKaga shipping. They are just so adorable together! Why can they be real so I stalk them kissing and hugging each other?**

**Ahem, anyway, allow me to introduce my first attempt of writing an angsty story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket for it belongs to Fujimaka Tadatoshi.**

**Enjoy the story. R&R, plz!**

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**Chapter 1:**** Cold**

_Unable to have a shallow dream, I grieve eternally._

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Christmas night. A holy night when everyone would be indulging themselves in the festive atmosphere, hand in hand with their loved ones. A night when people would gladly snuggle in their beloved's warmth and exchange glances of affection.

Cold but warm. That was the spirit of the holiday.

Yet, one person couldn't bring himself to feel the joyful festivity offered by Christmas. The numbing cold of December air had seeped through his thick layers of clothes, chilling his skin and then, freezing his already broken heart.

A tall redhead wearily dragged his feet through the street, the only thing on his mind being to get home as soon as possible. He occasionally bumped into some passengers but didn't spare any thought to apologize to them, thus receiving a few complaints and disapproving looks from others.

However, he paid no heed to any of them.

After all, those people could never change what had happened to him nor fix his broken heart. Those people could never provide him with the warmth he desperately yearned for.

He shifted his gaze towards the dark indigo sky, mindlessly marveling at the little white snow flowers descending slowly onto the ground without a single care to the world. The redhead then looked down and let out a sigh, which quickly turned into white puff of smoke dissipating into thin air.

The teenager smiled. His eyes lightened up at the small sliver of happiness.

"It's gonna be OK.. It's gonna be OK…"

Yet he still couldn't shake the despair off his heart.

He felt cold.

-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-

"_What do you mean you don't know where he is, Tetsu? He studies in the same school as yours, right?"_

"_We've searched everywhere, Aomine-kun. His apartment is vacant. We even asked Himuro-san about Kagami-kun but even he didn't know the whereabouts of Kagami-kun." _

"_But…but…never mind."_

"_Don't worry. We'll find him soon."_

_However, much as they tried, they could never find a single trace of Kagami, who seemed to have vanished into thin air. He left quietly without any notice, leaving everyone behind in confusion and sadness._

_Nevertheless, slowly, everyone managed to overcome the sad feelings and got on with their life. Except one person… _

-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-

**10 years later**

"OK, Seijurou-kun. I'll be there at 5 p.m. See you later."

….

Kuroko looked around to make sure there was nobody around before continuing. "_Smooch_. Love you, too, Seijurou-kun. Bye."

Kuroko let out a sigh and put away his cell phone. Though they had been dating since high school, Kuroko sometimes couldn't get used to Akashi's whimsical demands, most of which were made in very inconvenient time. Take this for an example: Kuroko was currently in supermarket, in public for god's sake, yet Akashi still wanted him to give a kiss and profess his love through the phone. Really, despite his mature and authoritative demeanor, Akashi could be so childish sometimes.

At the moment, Kuroko was checking the shelves for stuffs he intended to buy for the Christmas party held at his boyfriend's mansion in the evening. It was one of few occasions in the year when his middle school friends and he could gather and have a nice long chat with each other. After they graduated from their high school, all of them separated to pursue their chosen paths: Kise went to aviation university to become a pilot; Aomine joined police academy; Midorima chose to study Medical profession to become a doctor; Murasakibara went to a bakery to study to become a pastry chef; Akashi went abroad for further study to take over family business in the future; Kuroko took up Kindergarten Teaching and later became a kindergarten teacher at a school near his house. Busy as they were with their own work, they still managed to keep in touch with each other through emails and random phone calls once in a while to keep tab on other's well-being and life. And as soon as Christmas came, Akashi and he would call everyone to gather at one of the redhead's mansion to have a reunion party of which the cost would be covered by Akashi. As for Kuroko, he would willingly help his boyfriend preparing for the occasion by ordering the food, buying some snack and drinks and decorating the party room with some assistance of Momoi.

At the Beverage section, Kuroko put a few cans of beer, soft drinks and red bean soup (exclusively for Midorima) into the trolley which already contained some bags of cookies, snacks and decoration accessories. Eyeing carefully at the goods in the cart to check if he had got everything in the list, the bluenette hummed satisfactorily before pushing the vehicle down the aisle towards the counter to make payments. He couldn't wait to reunite with his friends again.

As he made his way to the counter with his mind occupied with the thought of his friends, he failed to notice a tall red-haired man pushing a trolley with a small blue-haired child in it in opposite direction. The man stopped at the spice corner, taking the bottle of chili sauce off the shelf and put it in the basket and then proceeding to another place.

"Daddy, I want teriyaki burger tonight. Could you please make it for me?", the child gave his father his best puppy-eye looks in hope of persuading the older adult.

"Okay, anything for you, baby", the man laughed and ruffled his son's hair.

-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-

Kuroko stepped out of the supermarket, feeling the cold winter air caressing his pale cheeks and freezing every breath he exhaled. Holding the grocery in both arms, he walked down the street leading to his house, which was about 10-minute walk from the supermarket. The small bluenette was humming an advertisement melody when he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Yo, Tetsu".

Kuroko turned around to find his dark blue-haired ex-light, Aomine, poking his head out of the car's window and waving his hand enthusiastically. The small bluenette smiled gently at his friend, who were driving slowly to him.

"Good afternoon, Aomine-kun. Long time no see."

"Yeah, long time no see. Where are you going?", Aomine asked, his arms leaning on the window frame.

"I'm heading back to my house. What about you, Aomine-kun?"

"Just finished work. I'm heading to Maji Murger to grab some lunch. Wanna join me?"

"No thanks, I think I'll…"

"I'll treat you to your favorite milkshake", Aomine interrupted, internally smirking because he knew his best friend would never back down from this offer.

"Well, if you insist, then I suppose I can go", Kuroko said calmly, eyes obviously shining at the prospect of a free treat.

"Then, hop in. I'll give you a lift", Aomine opened the door, letting the smaller teen in.

-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-

"So, Aomine-kun". Kuroko took a sip of the milkshake, savoring every bit of the cold sweet taste on his tasting bud before continuing, "How has your life been?"

The tanned teen dipped one fry into the ketchup and put it into his mouth. "Busy, busy, busy. Cases just keep coming and headache is a common shit in my life. Sometimes I just had to stop to wonder myself why the world is filled with so many illegal troubles."

"But you still enjoy your job, right?", Kuroko, with his usual blank look, stared knowingly at his ex-teammate.

"Of course. I do appreciate the thrill and excitement every time I'm on a mission, looking for clues and making deduction to find the culprits. Life has never been boring since I joined the police force. However…" Aomine stopped, apparently thinking about something before he continued, "There are times I just couldn't bring myself to understand the logic behind their motive. Really! Spraying acid at another woman because your husband sneaked out to fuck with her! There are better ways to settle things, you know!". Aomine chomped down another teriyaki burger in frustration.

"Remember this, Aomine-kun, we are humans, not saint. Humans can sometimes be very stupid. They are prone to making mistakes with various reasons, some of which can be very ridiculous. However, when our feelings get the better of us, all of our rationality disappears, resulting that we end up doing something stupid that may make us regret in the future". After the speech, Kuroko took another gulp of his milkshake while looking at Aomine, who seemed to not have paid attention to what he jus said.

The taller male instead looked outside the window with a faraway look, seemingly contemplating something.

"Yeah… we can sometimes be stupid….", Aomine trailed off.

-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-

Christmas had come again to Tokyo, bestowing people there with the ever glowing white snow wrapped in cold air and the merry atmosphere that compelled people to celebrate this once-a-year holiday. People, clad in thick jackets, mittens and scarves, were hurriedly jostling on the streets decorated with beautiful flashing lights and pine trees and filled with Christmas melodies, each trying to finish their own business quickly in order to enjoy themselves in the festive mood. Shops and stores were packed with people with different intentions of going there: some were searching for appropriate Christmas presents, some were shopping for groceries and some were simply strolling around just to feel fun.

Somewhere at the corner of the shopping street in Tokyo, between two multi-storey brightly-lit boutiques stood a humble bento shop with the signboard stating its name "Red and Blue" in bold. Two customers, one male and one female, walked out of the store and shivered a bit due to the sudden change of temperature; however, once they laid their gaze on each other, a smile bloomed on their faces. The young couple laced their fingers together and went across the street.

Not very far from those two, a tall redhead with a child in his arm was walking towards the store, his other hand occupied with grocery bag. The man took a brief glance of the couple, seemingly pondering something before he opened the shop door, making the bell at the top jingle signaling his entrance.

"Welcome to the "Red and Blue" bento shop. Oh, welcome back, Kagami!", a black-haired guy at the cashier counter greeted smilingly.

"Hello, Morino", Kagami greeted back and put the grocery bag on the table.

"Hello, Uncle Morino", the child, still in Kagami's arm, chirped teasingly at the man, successfully earning him a frown from the adult.

"Daichi, don't call me uncle. It sounds too old", the guy named Morino whined.

"But you're old", the kid giggled.

"Hey, I'm the same age as your father."

"Daddy is always young to me, and also the coolest and most handsome man in the world", Daichi hugged his father, snuggling up closer to him and rubbing his face against the man's chest. Kagami couldn't help but tighten the hold and kiss the kid's head.

"Jeez, you little brat! Kagami, this is what you get for spoiling him too much", Morino folded his arms, pouting at the sight in front of him.

"Now now, calm down, Morino. It's not my fault that I'm such a cool dad."

"And now we have a dad with a blown-up ego", Morino dramatically put his hand on his forehead, inducing a laugh from the parent and son.

At the time, a young woman with short brown hair came into room while carrying a plastic bag that contained three large boxes of different sizes that had the shop's name printed on. Upon seeing Kagami, she smiled and approached the two men. Noticing the bag she was carrying, Kagami promply asked.

"Hey there, Harada. What's up with that bag?"

"Oh, while you're out shopping, a customer has called in and made an order for Toufu soup, Karaage and Sushi to be delivered at his house. Morino-san, deliver it", Harada shoved the bag into Morino's hand.

"What! But I have to be home early tonight. There's gonna be a party at my house that requires my assistance!", the black-haired man whined, not wanting to do job in the cold weather.

"Please, the only assistance you may provide to your family is monkeying around, doing nothing! So get your lazy butt moving. Customer is waiting, you know", the brunette gave a stern look, implying there would be something nasty for him if he didn't go soon.

"But…but…damn it!"

Sensing his friend's discomfort, Kagami, as generous as ever, couldn't bear seeing someone in trouble, thus deciding to step in.

"How about me doing the delivery?", Kagami offered.

Morino and Harada turned around to look at Kagami, each donning on their faces different expressions. While Harada was flashing the redhead a disbelieving look, Morino looked as if he had just seen an angel descending from the sky, a saviour coming to his rescue.

"No way, Kagami-san. You've done the cooking and grocery shopping for today; you don't have to trouble yourself doing this for this stupid lazy ass. Besides, delivery is Morino's task, not yours. It's Christmas and you need some rest", Harada reasoned while giving a glare to the raven, threatening him to take the job.

"It's OK, Harada. Besides, Daichi has been wanting to ride on the motorbike with me for a while now, so I'll take him with me on this delivery."

At hearing the chance to ride the motorbike with his father, the young boy perked his head up interestedly. "Motorcycle? Yippie, I'm gonna ride the bike with Daddy!". The child bounced in his older man's arm, unable to hide his excitement.

At this point, the brunette had no choice but to hand over the delivery bag along with the address instruction to the redhead, of course, not after throwing a death glare the happily smiling Morino.

"Sorry to bother you, Kagami-san. Then, I'll do the accounting of the day and close the shop later. Morino will do the cleaning up (the black-haired man whined in the background). Have a safe trip, Kagami-san and Merry Christmas", Harada made a peace sign as the redhead grabbed key, ready to leave.

"Merry Christmas, Kagami and Daichi", Morino winked playfully.

"Merry Chrismas to you two, too." Kagami grinned in return and made his way to the door.

As soon as they reached the motorcycle, Daichi immediately jumped down to the ground and ran to the vehicle. The little boy enthusiastically climbed up the bike, making himself comfortable on the behind seat and then, waving to his father.

"Daddy, hurry!"

"Okay, okay, first let me check the address. 2XX, Beika Street… Pretty far from here. Daichi, put your helmet on."

Kagami buttoned the helmet, which his son mirrored him, put the food into the small container at the back and hopped onto the vehicle.

And soon after that, two people were speeding down the road, the redhead grinning excitedly, the small bluenette hugging his father tightly and screaming at the top of his lung, feeling chilling wind dashing against their skin.

"**Getting scared, huh, Daichi?",** Kagami called out, his eyes not leaving the road.

"**No way! This is the best. Faster, Daddy. Faster!",** the child shouted back, adrenaline pumping through his vein.

"**Very well. Then brace yourself."**

Kagami accelerated the motorcycle more and after that, he and his son were going at full throttle, so fast that other passengers could only catch a glimpse of blurry red and blue dashing down the street.

-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-

"Merry Christmas!"

Everyone clapped their hands as confetti was raining down and covering people with colorful strings and glitter. The annual Christmas party slash reunion of Generation of Miracle had begun at Akashi's mansion and everybody was enjoying themselves to the fullest. Although it was originally for only the Miracles to gather together, there were still some outsiders- or boyfriends of the Miracles- participating the party at the insistence of their respective teammate. Kise always managed to drag Kasamatsu, much to the latter's dismay, to every gathering while claiming that Kasamatsu had duty as Kise's fiancé to accompany the blond in every event. Despite not being (formally) invited by Midorima, Takao never failed to make his appearance with the tall greenette, adding to the gathering with his non-stop chirping about his boyfriend's (embarrassing) daily life and how tsundere he was, to the taller one's annoyance. However, as for Himuro- Murasakibara's boyfriend, the raven rarely joined the Christmas party- though he did at the other gathering- with the excuse that he had to spend Christmas with his family. Nobody pried in further.

After the exchange of Christmas greetings, everybody started digging in the food served on beautiful plates on long tables covered with white cloth. Murasakibara, as always, proceeded to feed himself on sweet delicacies and paid no attention to any other food, which triggered Midorima's lecture mode about how unhealthy the giant's diet was and the dire consequences of doing so. Kise was being his usual cheerful talkative self, demanding his boyfriend to feed him and Kasamatsu wasted no time to ruthlessly stuff many cupcakes into the blond's mouth in order to shut his trap up. Takao and Momoi were chatting about their respective jobs: the ex-Shuutoku player, after a series of failure in getting accepted into the white-collared workforce, decided to open a cybercafé near his house, which quickly became famous among students; Momoi unsurprisingly followed Aomine to the Police Academy and later became the tanned man's assistant, who proved to be of great help due to her gifted information gathering and analyzing skill. Everyone was deep in the mood of celebrating the Christmas reunion.

Sitting not very faraway, head leaning on his boyfriend's shoulder, Kuroko let his eyes roam around the room, feeling both happy and nostalgic at the sight of his friends talking and laughing carefreely. It brought the small bluenette back to those old Teiko days when they were still young and together without a single care to the world.

"Just like old time, huh, Tetsuya?", Akashi whispered, his hand slowly moving to hold the other's one.

"Yeah… like old time.", Kuroko replied, his eyes shutting down to feel the warmth of his boyfriend more.

"Akashi-kun."

"Mmm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For holding these kinds of event. Moments like these… I'll always treasure them."

"As long as you're happy, then it'll be OK to me."

After that, the ex-captain of Teiko and the shadow let their lips connect for a moment. It was a simple chaste kiss, a moment of intimate closure that expressed fully their feeling for each other.

Unknown to the couple, Aomine had been watching those two getting lovie-dovie with each other since the beginning. Although his expression was a perfect mask of his usual self: bored and disinterested, his inside was all twisted with different feelings. He was happy that his best friend had finally been with the one he loved; he sincerely wished that the two of them would enjoy a happy life together through every thick and thin. Yet what was left for him? Now all of his friends had found the other half of their life and lived contentedly with them, yet he still hadn't settled with anyone. Aomine had forgotten how many girlfriend he had dated ever since his graduation but one thing he was certain was that none of his relationship lasted more than 3 months. His recent breakup happened a month ago when his ex-girlfriend dumped him after their last making-out, claiming that his heart had never been with her ever since they started dating.

Aomine sighed. He was slightly jealous of Kuroko and the others, of how they came to find the one they truly loved and would willingly spend the life with. At those particular moments of weakness, one thing that unfailingly came quickly to Aomine mind was a shade of red, passionately and fierily burning and fading away.

Aomine Daiki was lonely.

-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-

"This house is so beautiful, Daddy! I want to live in the house like this one day!". Daichi followed his father, eyes darting around in awe of the mansion's intricate interior and stunning décor and furnishings. Kagami couldn't help but silently agree with his son.

"Just wait, Daichi. Once I save enough money, I'll rebuild our house and it will be as beautiful as this."

"Yay, Daddy is the best!". The small kind squealed in glee as he tackled to hug his father's leg.

The tall redhead chuckled at his son's antic.

Currently, both father and son were following a man who introduced himself as the head butler of the this mansion to the customer who ordered the delivery. After Kagami rang the doorbell, he soon found himself standing in front of this serious-looking elegantly-dressed butler who told him to go into the mansion in order to meet the owner as well as the customer of the delivered bentos for payment. Now that the redhead thought about this, the owner of this house had to be very rich judging from the luxurious mansion. Kagami suddenly felt very nervous and conscious of his appearance. He used his hand to comb his hair, smoothed wrinkles on his clothes in order to make himself look at least presentable to the owner. With this kind of customer, manner and appearance of the deliverer were as important as the quality of the food if he wanted them to come back and buy his food again.

"We have arrived at the room, Mister!"

Kagami immediately straightened his posture, schooling his features back to his usual professional mode. A good impression was always equivalent to more profit in business after all.

"Daichi, could you wait here for a while? Daddy's gonna deliver this to the customer", Kagami patted his son's head.

"Okay."

The butler pushed the door open, letting both of them in. At that time, Kagami's eyes were assaulted by the bright light radiating from the chandelier, sparkling spotless marble floor and flashy ornaments. The world of the rich was truly a far cry from that of commoners, Kagami mentally sighed.

"Akashi-sama, your order has arrived."

Rainbow. It was Kagami's impression as soon as his eyes adjusted to the blinding light.

Ha gasped. Other people in the room gasped, too.

Among those unique colors, Kagami noticed indigo. The very color that altered his wheel of destiny. The very color that dyed his fate in pain and despair.

Kagami could feel the cold of ten years ago rushing back once more. The color of indigo became darker.

And the wheel of fate, which had been silent for many years, began spinning again.

_**TBC**_

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**Any guess who Daichi is XD?**

**Every constructive review will be appreciated :3**


	2. Comedy

**Hello, everyone!**

**I guess it's very obvious who Daichi is, right XD? Oh well, here is the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket for it belongs to Fujimaka Tadatoshi.**

**Enjoy the story. R&R, plz!**

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**Chapter 2:**** Comedy**

_If I'm set adrift for once, then I'll never return again_

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

As people were enjoying themselves in the party, the grand door suddenly opened and the partiers' attention were directed to the serious-looking man in suit, who then informed that Akashi's order had arrived. Kuroko turned around to give his boyfriend a questioning look as to what kind of order had arrived.

"Before the party, I have made order for some special food to be delivered from the store named "Red and Blue". Its food is very good, especially its toufu soup. I thought it would be nice to add a few dishes to the party's menu so that our friends wouldn't get bored of the same taste every Christmas", Akashi, his arms still snaking around the bluenette's waist, calmly answered, his crimson eyes staring straight into the aqua orbs.

Kuroko just simply nodded, face still as bank as ever but on the inside, he felt rather happy about his boyfriend's concern.

Aomine simply eyed the butler with complete disinterest; he couldn't care less about Akashi's order having arrived, unless the package contained explosive materials. However, since it was Akashi he was talking about, there could be a chance that a bomb was delivered to assassinate the redhead. Oh, he was such a hilarious person, Aomine internally laughed at his own self-made joke!

If there hadn't been anything special happening, then the occupants in the party room would have just resumed to what they had been doing before the intervention. However, fate always knew how to play with people. It was when the delivery man stepped into the room that chaos began to ensue.

Vibrant fiery red hair with dark tips. Scarlet eyes with endless depth.

The deliveryman was none other than Kagami Taiga, the person who had gone missing for 10 years.

Aomine couldn't believe his eyes anymore. Kagami was standing before his very eyes. The very person who had haunted his dreams for so long, whom he had yearned to meet again, was right in front of him.

As soon as Kagami's gaze clashed with his, the redhead's expression quickly yet expectedly morphed into surprise; however, it was soon replaced with an out-of-character stone-like quality that directly sent chill down Aomine's spine.

Something was off about Kagami.

Aomine wanted to move, to approach the redhead, to touch him in order to verify his existence with his very own hands and yell at him for disappearing for 10 years, but he couldn't move. Something about Kagami's gaze had immediately set his instinct on edge, compelling him to stay where he was.

Something was definitely wrong.

Other occupants in the room also shared Aomine's surprised feelings: Kagami, their ex-rival, friend and partner, whom they had searched 10 years ago, was now standing right in front of them as the deliveryman. Although there was not much change in his appearance, his facial features had became more mature, sharper and noticeably-what came as a surprise-gentler. His looks- from his attire, demeanor to posture- wasn't the same as 10 years ago when he used to be described as a crude, rough, vicious and hot-headed basketball idiot. They didn't know exactly which word would be best to describe the current Kagami but there was one thing they was certain about: this Kagami was definitely different.

Having recovered from his shock, Kagami quickly tore his eyes from Aomine and walked towards Akashi, whom he was sure the package was to be delivered to. All of the raging emotions swirling inside his mind a while ago was successfully suppressed and brutally forced down into the depth of his consciousness for the sake of a professional look for duty. He held his head high as he walked steadily, perfectly and gracefully as if he were walking on the stage, no trace of hesitation shown in his expression. Ever since Kagami made his appearance, nobody had opened their mouth to speak; in fact, they were too shocked to utter a word. Right now, it was so quiet that the sound of Kagami steps echoed eerily throughout the hall.

As Kagami was about to walk past him, Aomine, though just a flicker of moment, managed to find his voice and said Kagami's name; however, the redhead didn't even bat an eyelash but instead gave the tanned man a very brief glare- one that, in a mere second, made a grown man like Aomine shudder in fright and blocked the next word in the man's throat.

It was then that Aomine noticed another noticeable difference in Kagami: his hair was much longer than before, almost reaching his back; however; the lower hair layer was not as thick as the upper part and was divided into two strands that was held together by a thin red cord. Those two strands fluttered slightly along with Kagami's movement.

The red-haired deliverer continued his walk, passing many familiar faces yet sparing no glance to any of them and eventually arrived at where Akashi was. Kuroko was about to say something when Kagami decided to speak first, breaking the tense silence.

"Hello, Akashi-san. I'm here to deliver your order from our shop, "Red and Blue". Kagami smiled politely and spoke confidently. "Your order includes an extra large portion of Karaage, Special Sushi Combo and one large serving of Toufu soup. All of them will be…", the redhead took the bill that was put in the plastic bag, "900 yen. And because today is Christmas day, our shop currently discounts 10% on all kinds of bill, so your charge will be 810 yen."

Both Akashi and Kuroko were taken aback by Kagami's professional tone, which they didn't expect to hear if it were the old Kagami they were talking about. The old Kagami always came across as crude, straight-forward and loud-mouthed instead of being this calm and polite. On top of that, he was acting as if he was talking to a normal customer, as if he hadn't gone missing for 10 years and just reunited with his friends; as if he was talking to… strangers.

They were at an utter loss for words for this.

"So, Akashi-san", Kagami handed out the package, "would you prefer to pay by cash or by cheque?"

Snapping out of his momentary daze, Akashi cleared his throat and took out his wallet, pulling out a 500 yen note and four 100 yen notes, which Kagami smilingly received and gave back his change.

"Thank you so much for your patronage. I hope you will enjoy your meal. And Merry Christmas!". With that, Kagami turned on his heel and prepared to leave. Well, that was the plan until Kuroko decided to stop the taller man by grabbing his hand.

"Kagami-kun, it's very rude of you to act as if we were just strangers. Is this the way you treat your friends after disappearing for 10 years? Don't tell me you gave forgotten us?", Kuroko excused the redhead of his indifference with a hard look in his eyes. In fact, he was rather angry at how his ex-partner could act as if nothing had happened 10 years ago.

Kuroko's words made Kagami flinch a bit, though the moment was very subtle. The taller man turned around to look at the smaller one, who was hoping to beat some sense into the other's thick head like the old days. However, the next thing that he knew was that his hand had instinctively released his grasp at the other's, his body feeling tense and petrified. Kuroko couldn't help it for he had never face this foreign feelings when he was close to this guy in the past. Kuroko was shocked.

Kagami's gaze was cold, lifeless, and above all, hostile.

The shock didn't end there as Kagami opened his mouth to reply to Kuroko. "Of course, I didn't forget you, Kuroko-san. We used to go to the same class."

And Kagami smiled politely, so sickeningly polite that Kuroko couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine as the words slowly registered in his head. Did Kagami just refer Kuroko with honorific? Did saying that they used to study in the same class also mean denying subtly his relationship with Kuroko?

"It's time for me to take my leave, Kuroko-san. I wish you a Merry Christmas with your friends and family."

Just when Kagami was on verge of making his second step, Kise stopped him, much to the taller's annoyance. "Kagamicchi, uhm, why don't you join the party with us?"

The redhead stopped in his track and then turned to face the blond with a smile.

"Sorry Kise-san. I have business to attend at home, so I must leave for home now. But thanks for your offer."

With that, Kagami averted his gaze from Kise, leaving behind a dumbstruck model who failed to comprehend who he just talked to. Was that even Kagami he just talked to? Standing next to Kise, Kasamatsu also shared his boyfriend's sentiment. Even the Kaijou ex-captain couldn't bring himself to believe that the red-haired man walking away was Kagami, who was once Seirin's ace he used to face in court.

At this point, all the tall redhead wanted was to get out of this room and escape this suffocating atmosphere that could pierce through his lung anytime. The sooner he got away from this place, the less he had to cope with the annoying constricting nausea that threat to make him puke right now and the less he had to face with _him_.

However, things was never the same as people expected it to be.

"Oi, Bakagami. What the hell is up with that shitty attitude of yours? You disappeared for freaking 10 years and now when you appeared in front of us, you talk to us as if we were no more than strangers to you." Aomine grabbed Kagami's hand in an attempt to stop the redhead from leaving, "Hey, are you listening to me?", the tanned man yelled, his patience wearing thin when he saw Kagami not turning around to face him.

Eventually, Seirin's ex-ace gave in and turned around. However, as soon as his gaze locked on the crimson eyes, Aomine fully understood the impact of Kagami's change on everyone else.

The crimson color that used to burn so brightly, so passionately that effortlessly unfailingly ignited others' dying flame was now nothing more than a dull jaded red carrying no fire that could warm people's heart. Instead, it was chillingly cold- the kind of cold that more than enough made people jolt instinctively, as if they had just touch a piece of metal that was left outside for the whole winter. Nevertheless, beneath that dull lifeless surface was entirely different matter. Aomine could see them all: disbelief, tiredness, loneliness, despair and hatred. What exactly had happened that made Kagami change so much like that?

"Aomine-san". Kagami's deep voice broke Aomine out of his trance. "I suggest you stop holding my hand now unless you want to be dirtied by someone as _despicable_ as me?", the redhead said calmly in addition to the intense glare directed at the taller man.

Agonized as he was by the dangerous tone, the police didn't back down, but instead tightened his grasp at the deliverer's wrist. He gotta get to the bottom of this.

"Kagami, I don't know what happened to you but that doesn't mean you can …"

Before the bluenette could finish his sentence, a punch was delivered straight at his right cheek, making him fall harshly onto the ground, to the frightful scream of Momoi and disbelieving looks of others. The impact of the blow was so great that it actually sent the blue-haired man flying from where he previously stood, landing near dinning table. So surprised by the attack, it took Aomine a while to register that Kagami had struck him in the face, but before he could gather himself, Kagami had taken the initiative to speak.

"I did warn you to stop holding my hand but you didn't listen to me. You haven't changed a bit, Aomine, just like ten years ago."

The redhead's voice was filled with venom and malice as his cruel gaze was directed at the lying form on the ground. It took all of his will power to restrain all of his raging emotions threatening to persuade his mind and body to attack again.

Kagami turned to face the other partiers, who shuddered at the redhead's gaze.

"I'm terribly sorry for causing a ruckus here. I promise this will never happen for the next time. I hope you will continue to support our shop. Good bye."

And this time, Kagami did manage to exit the room just as his wish.

-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-

Daichi was mindlessly staring at an ornamental statue when the door was suddenly slammed open, revealing his father. Not letting his son ask anything, Kagami quickly picked up his son and darted hurriedly out of the mansion. The redhead put his son on the back seat and hopped onto the motorcycle, staring the engine without even caring that he and his son were not wearing the safety helmet. Ignoring his son's scream to slow down, Kagami sped down the road at full speed, his mind replaying the scene at Akashi's house. Gritting his teeth in frustration, the redhead accelerated the motorbike even more, hoping the wind might blow away all those disturbing thought about the person he had vowed to never meet again.

"_Of course. You would say that. Of course you would say that you didn't know. Just how cruel can you be, Aomine Daiki?" _

However, all of his attempt proved to be futile.

-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-

Back at Akashi's mansion, people were still too dumbstruck to move from their own spot. A moment ago, they just witnessed with their own eyes Kagami hitting Aomine cruelly for being touched by the other. Kagami of all people- Kagami, who, despite his rough features, was kind and caring, even towards the enemy; who possessed the brightest smile that could light up the whole room and warm other people's heart.

But what just happened minutes ago completely shattered those images of his.

The person they just met had the looks of Kagami yet he didn't seem like the Kagami they knew. That person was sickeningly polite, emotionless and ruthless, willing to go as far as hitting an innocent person for stopping him from leaving.

Being the first one to snap back to reality, Kuroko quickly approached Aomine to help him stand up. The bluenette wobbly stood up with the help of his best friend, his hand rubbing the bruise spot where Kagami previously hit him. Once his consciousness had started kicking in, the tanned police immediately turned his eyes to the door only to find that Kagami had left; however, hardly had he sprinted out of the room when he was stopped by Kuroko, who had a disapproving look in his eyes as if telling him that he shouldn't pursue the redhead. And Aomine was right.

"Aomine-kun. By the time you arrive at the gate, I think Kagami-kun has already gone far away from here. And I think it's best to let him be."

"But Tetsu…"

"Daiki, Tetsuya is right. You won't gain anything from pursuing him now", Akashi intervened, backing his boyfriend's argument up, "However, if you want to meet him again, then you can go directly to the bento shop he's working. There is the shop address written on the bento box."

Aomine averted his eyes, not wanting to look at anyone, his hands balling into a fist. He was obviously frustrated. Sensing his friend's discomfort, Kuroko patted the taller man's back gently.

"It's okay, Aomine-kun. Now that we know he's back and his location, you can meet him again anytime you want."

"But that… that's Kagamicchi, right? Why is he so…different?", Kise wondered out loud. The blond looked around, searching for an answer from someone, to no avail. Nobody could answer him.

Aomine just simply gritted his teeth in frustration. Because he knew. He knew what had caused Kagami to behave like that.

-o-o-o-o-o-0-o-o-o-o-o-

Kagami's motorcycle eventually came to a halt as Kagami made his stop at the parking lot near his shop. At this point, he was completely mentally exhausted. He proceeded to park his vehicle in an empty slot, put away the helmets and lock his bike, every movement being done precisely but robotically.

Noticing his father's strange behavior, Daichi timidly pulled Kagami's pants, looking up at the adult's face with a worried expression.

"Daddy, are you OK? You've been acting kinda strange ever since you got out of that mansion. Are you sick?", the little boy asked, concern laced in his tone.

It was then that Kagami noticed that he had completely forgotten about his son since his unwelcome encounter with Aomine. Looking into his son's crimson eyes that bore so much resemblance to his, the redhead couldn't help but feel guilty for ignoring his child the whole time.

Crouching down to his son's size, the adult gently patted the boy's head and smile at him. "Daddy is OK. The customer just gave me a tough time dealing with, so naturally I felt a bit tired after talking to him, but I'm fine now. Don't worry about me, okay!"

Despite knowing well that his father just put up a brave front, Daichi also knew that it was best that he should nod and agree with his father. Something must have happened at the mansion that made his father sad like this, Daichi thought. The little boy didn't want to upset his father any further so he opted to stay silent throughout their walk to their house, which also served as the bento shop.

As they arrived at the house door, Kagami noticed that there was light inside and the door wasn't locked. _"So they have arrived_", Kagami thought.

As Kagami expected, there were two people inside the shop, sitting comfortably at the table used for customer wanting to have lunch at his place, chatting animatedly until they noticed the redhead's entrance.

"Uncle Tatsuya, Auntie Alex!",little Daichi chirped in English excitedly, happy to see his uncle and aunt again.

"Merry Christmast, Taiga and Daichi", Alexandra was the first one to stand up and greet the red-haired shop owner and his son. She ruffled Daichi's blue hair with a fond smile, "Look how much you've grown since I last saw you."

"Merry Christmas, Taiga, Daichi", Himuro approached and teasingly pinched Daichi's cheek, earning him a pout from the young boy.

"Long time no see, Alex, Tatsuya", Kagami greeted back. "When did you arrive here?"

"About half an hour before you got back. It's lucky that I went with Tatsuya or else, I doubt your employees would ever let me in", Alex replied.

"Oh, you've met Harada and Morino?"

"Yeah, that girl kept throwing me suspicious stare even when Tatsuya said you and I already knew each other." Kagami simply chuckled at Harada's sense of security.

"Can we leave the chatting later because now I'm starving. Daichi here must be hungry, too, right?". Himuro looked at the small bluenette, who eagerly nodded. He couldn't wait to taste his Daddy's teriyaki burger.

"Alright, then come on in. I just need to reheat some sandwich and curry I made this morning and make teriyaki burger for Daichi and we're good to go."

-o-o-o-o-o-0-o-o-o-o-o-

At the moment, Kagami was brushing his hair quietly on the bed in his room after tucking his son to bed. The Christmas party with his basketball instructor Alex and brother Himuro passed peacefully with none of them noticing Kagami's stressful state due to meeting Aomine previously and he preferred to keep that way until his two guests left. To the redhead, Christmast was a nice annual occasion for the redhead to meet up and spend some quality time with them. Back when he and his son were still living in America, Alex would come to his house with at least one bottle of wine (for her) and presents for him and his son, Himuro would travel from Japan to visit him and then all of them would gather at Kagami's apartment to throw a small party that had everything required for Christmas: decorated pinetree, colorful gifts, delicious food prepared by Kagami, card game,…His little Daichi once said that Christmas was his favorite holiday because he got to decorate Christmas tree, eat delicious food, receive presents and play games with many people. Kagami smiled fondly at the memories.

Suddenly, Kagami's attention was drawn to the door that was clicked open, revealing his brother, Himuro. The raven offered him a smile and then proceeded to sit next to the redhead.

"Where's Alex?", Kagami asked.

"Sleeping. What do you expect her to be after she knocked down two bottles of wine?"

"Oh, then why don't you go to sleep, too? It's late already". Kagami looked at the clock on the wall that showed it was nearly midnight.

"I want to talk with you", the ex-Jousei player answered casually as Kagami gave him an analyzing stare.

What came next was an awkward pause of silence with Himuro not saying anything and Kagami calmy continuing brushing his long hair.

"So… what happened?"

Himuro looked at his brother intently, searching for any expression that could give him the answer to his question. Years of being close to Kagami had enabled him to read the taller one's emotions to some extent and after tonight party, he noticed something definitely wrong with his brother. Kagami was definitely hiding something.

Kagami stopped brushing his hair. Instead of answering Himuro's question, he chose to stay silent, staring at the wall as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Not giving up, Himuro asked once more time.

"Taiga, I know there must be something bothering you. Others might think that you look normal but I knew better than that. During the party, you sometimes spaced out and you kept sneaking glances of Daichi many times. When I asked how today's business was, you looked tense and displeased. Is there anything here that upsets you?"

Kagami didn't answer. His face was blank and his gaze was faraway.

"Taiga", Himuro held Kagami's hand, "Just tell me. If there's problem, I can help you. I'm your brother and I don't like it when you're sad like this."

Kagami looked down at his brother's hand, seemingly contemplating something. And then, to Himuro's delight, he spoke.

"I…I met him."

"Met who?"

"…"

Realization suddenly dawned on Himuro. "Don't tell me you met…"

"Yes, I met Aomine."

Disbelief painted on the raven's face. How could fate play such a cruel twist on his little brother?

"I met him when I went to deliver the bento to Akashi's house. It seemed the Generation of Miracles were having a party when I came. And Aomine was there."

"Then what happened? Did he do anything to you?"

"He tried to stop me from leaving then I got angry and punched him in the face."

"Oh…" was what Himuro could say after hearing Kagami's reply.

Kagami stood up and walked to the window. His expression was unreadable. Outside, snow was falling gently and carefreely, painting the scenery in pure white; a beautiful yet silently tragic scene, to Kagami's opinion.

"Then what are you gonna do from now? I'm pretty sure he'll come after you once he know you're living here. What if he finds out about…". Himuro stopped but Kagami knew what his brother was referring to. He looked the wall that separated his and his son's room, knowing that the boy must be sound asleep now.

"Don't worry, Tatsuya. Everything will be alright. After all, there's nothing between me and Aomine, in the past and even now."

Himuro remained silent, watching the red-haired man turning his gaze towards him. His heart was twisted in pain as he saw his brother's expression.

"Everything between him and me 10 years ago… was a comedy…a comedy in which I was the only one who had to cry."

Outside, snow continued to fall down from the midnight indigo sky, like 10 years ago.

_**TBC**_

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**Every constructive review is appreciated. The more review this fic receives, the faster I write :3**


	3. Labyrinth

**Hello, everyone!**

**A new chapter is coming through! Thanks so much for you continuous support. Your reviews made me so happy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket for it belongs to Fujimaka Tadatoshi.**

**Enjoy the story. R&R, plz!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Labyrinth**

_The poem of mistakes intertwines with me and binds my chest_

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

_It was dark and cold. An endless labyrinth stretching towards infinity was what Kagami perceived as he continued running in order to find an escape. He desperately passed through many doors, encountered numerous junctions, yet all he found was a never ending darkness of the maze that seemed to take pleasure in seeing him suffer. _

_It was then that Kagami noticed a faraway indigo door with light leaking from below. Hope rising in his chest, the redhead hurriedly dashed towards that little light and opened the door, thinking that he would see the light soon. Upon closer inspection, he could make out a symbol of an apple carved onto the door surface but he ignored it-all he minded at that time was whether he could see the light once again. There was light, indeed. Kagami felt happy as he ran forward, bathing himself in the dazzling brightness, savoring the feeling of delight after staying in the dark for so long. _

_However, that moment of joy was short-lived as it was just the beginning of another nightmare. Kagami soon found himself slowly surrounded by the dark; the room previously full of light was now just another labyrinth of darkness he had to struggle to get out. However, unlike before, as soon as the dark began appearing, a wave of fear and anxiety started building up in his chest. No sooner had darkness filled in his vision than Kagami began hearing those sounds- the sounds at which he couldn't help but tremble in pain and agony. And to make the matter worse, Kagami began seeing __**those**__ scenes._

_Mocking laughter reverberated in the dark, accompanied by insults and the fighting noise. He saw them. He could feel the pain surging through his body, paralyzing his muscles and rendering him helpless as he was forced to witness the images that he didn't want to ever see again. Yet, as if fate hadn't had enough fun toying with Kagami, the pain inflicted by the labyrinth didn't simply stop there. Kagami soon heard __**that**__ deep voice- one that pierced through his chest and slowly killed him like a bullet hitting its target. At that moment, he couldn't understand why but some mysterious force had made him turn around to see what was behind him._

_Kagami's eyes widened._

_And after that, the redhead submerged himself in complete darkness with the voice still echoing loudly in his mind._

"_**You disgust me." **_

_This was the price Kagami had to pay for his ignorance of the warning symbol on the door._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Kagami hastily opened his eyes, only to find the dark worn-out ceiling in front of him. Forehead wet with sweat, Kagami grimaced as the realization dawned on him that what he just experienced was just a nightmare. An _all-too-familiar_ nightmare that Kagami had often faced for the last 10 years. However, no matter how much he had acquainted himself with that experience, Kagami still couldn't come to terms with it. Such was the dream's creepy vividness that even after waking up from sleep, the feelings of fear and pain still lingered in his chest, usually leaving him respiring hastily as an assurance for his beating-too-rapidly heart. Kagami closed his eyes and tried to slow down his erratic breathing pace.

Once he had calmed down, the adult used his palm to wipe the sweat off his forehead and adjusted his duvet to get a better cover of his body from the cold winter air. It was then that he felt another weight on his bed. Lying next to him was his son, Daichi, who was contentedly cuddling in the cotton material, his face showing such a peaceful expression, arms hugging tightly his panda plush, which he received from Kagami as his fourth birthday present. The young father wasn't a bit surprised at seeing his son sleeping next to him when the boy was supposed to sleep alone in his own room. Gently touching his son's soft hair, Kagami let his memory lead him back to the days when they were still in America and had just moved into a more spacious apartment with more rooms. At that time, Daichi was 7 years old and despite having his own room with a queen-size bed, the little boy, at night, still carried his plush and sneaked into his father's room to sleep with him without his father noticing until the next morning. At first, Kagami didn't find it strange because the redhead assumed that his son was not used to sleeping alone due to having spent 7 years sleeping next to him in their old house. However, this little thing, throughout the years, had developed into a deep-seated habit that lasted until now, when the boy was at the age that most children would rather rest in their own private bedroom. Nevertheless, there were times that Daichi slept in his own room, such as when the boy stayed up late to study for exams or when Kagami worked overtime and was unable to go home that night.

Kagami didn't mind this little habit of his son at all; in fact, he welcomed it. To the redhead, Daichi's presence always managed to soothe his mind whenever he suddenly woke up in cold sweat from the nightmare at midnight. The young father smiled as he slowly and gently brought his son closer to him, wrapping the boy in the adult's bigger arm, burying his nose in the soft hair that smelled like X-Men shampoo. As the soothing warmth of Kagami enveloped the small figure, Daichi let out a contented whimper and buried his face in his father's chest, mumbling something like teriyaki.

Darting his gaze towards the window, Kagami let his vision be claimed by the overwhelming whiteness of snow decorating the night sky as his consciousness gradually faded into the depth of darkness. The last thing on his mind before he drifted to sleep was the contemplation whether he would encounter that indigo door again in the nightmarish labyrinth.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As his car came to a halt, Aomine took another quick glance of the address, which was the 20th time ever since he started his road trip, to make sure if he got the right place. 10XX Tomoeda Street. After parking his car in the allotted area, the bluenette wasted no time to get out and start looking for the building where he assumed Kagami was working. Walking down the road occupied by many fancy-looking stores with the address paper on his hand, Aomine eventually arrived at his desired location. Letting a sigh that quickly turned to white puff of smoke due to the freezing air, the bluenette cast his gaze over the property and pulled his muffler up to have a better cover of his neck, eyes absorbing every detail of the bento shop where Kagami was assumed to be working. Truth be told, there existed a great contrast between the shop "Red and Blue" and the others; this shop was simply too plain and shabby compared to the luxurious extravagant surroundings, which somehow made the place seemingly fade away into the glamorous background. With a simple-design signboard telling the name of the place, the bento store was painted in white with two glass windows, behind which were hidden by roller shutter doors. Following the theme of Christmas festival, there were strips made of glittering garland and small ornaments decorated round the house exterior, accompanied by a green wreath at the front door. All in all, the shop, to Aomine's opinion and mild surprise, looked too simple to be a popular shop of lunchbox. According to Akashi, who heard this through the grapevine of his company, "Red and Blue", despite being established recently, had made quite a name among the workers for its reasonably-priced but high-quality lunchboxes.

Aomine chuckled. Of course, its food had to be delicious; after all, Kagami was the one who made it if he assumed correctly. In the past, the bluenette himself had got the privilege of having meals prepared by Kagami every time the redhead and he got back from their intense one-on-one. The ex-Seirin ace always complained about Aomine's hobby of casually crashing into his place; nevertheless, he always prepared for the bluenette meals that would make Aomine drool even when it was still being cooked. When the redhead asked him about his opinion, he would usually feign disinterest, which no doubt earned him a pissed Kagami.

Those were the days when he and Kagami were still young teenagers brimming with youth and passion, when he and Kagami were still together, playing basketball, bantering, bickering and fooling around. Aomine smiled fondly as the memories rushed back.

Feeling the cold slowly getting him, Aomine, in an attempt to warm his body, took out a cigarette, lighted it and inhaled one long breath of the tobacco scent, letting the pleasant bitterness clear his mind, which was currently forwarded back to _that_ night. The young police closed his eyes in pain as flashback took him to the foolishness he committed 10 years ago, which was no doubt the reason for Kagami's disappearance. However, something at the back of his mind kept nagging him for missing something very important- something that he himself had previously found ridiculous yet was the trigger of everything later.

After another 5 minutes of recollection, the young police begrudgingly gritted his teeth and decided to stop his train of thought for fear of a splitting headache. His childhood friend, Momoi, was right; despite him being an adult, his memory storage was no different than that of a 6-year-old. No, no, no, 6-year-old would be too much; 10-year-old would be a more correct term. But still, it was very irritating to forget something that he was supposed to remember.

Time sure flied, Aomine sighed. In a blink of an eye, it had been 10 years since Kagami decided to walk out of his life, leaving no trace behind, only bitterness and regret remaining for the foolish man. 10 years was certainly a long time, long enough for a person to change himself and more or less blur one's memories. Some details of the past had become vague over the course of 10 years; sometimes, Aomine had to stop to recount things in order to keep his memory afresh, which increasingly proved to be a strenuous process due to his nowadays overwhelming workload. Man, he seriously needed a vacation!

He took a look at his watch, which showed 8:00 AM. Aomine found it strange because the last time he checked the watch when he was about to leave the house, he was sure it was 8:30 AM. Realization suddenly dawning on him, the tanned man took out his phone and found, to his annoyance, that the accurate time at the moment was 7:30 AM and his wristwatch was, in fact, had stopped working without him knowing. Angrily shoving his phone into his pocket, the adult took out another cigarette to smoke, feeling rather pissed that if it hadn't been for his god-damned faulty watch, he would still be cuddling in his warm duvet and drifting in his dream world… Or not. Ever since his faithful encounter with Kagami, he had hardly found a single moment he didn't think about the redhead; even in his dream, he couldn't escape from those haunting images of ten years ago: the unmoving form on the ground, the despair etching on his expression, the scarlet eyes whose tears were threatened to spill, and the following painful guilt constricting his chest.

Aomine balled his fist in an attempt to calm himself down but to no avail. People were right when they said that you only knew the value of the thing once you had lost it. The love that was already there from the beginning, he abandoned it to pursue an illusion until he realized it was too late to return to those days. Maybe he should just give up now…

However, hardly had the thought of giving up crossed his mind when he quickly shook it off his head. The word "giving up" never existed in his dictionary; it was never his style to give up half-way through, especially when he was presented another chance to correct things. Now that Kagami had returned, he was more than determined to fix their relationship, or at least, make the redhead understand his feelings.

Soon, the sound of the door open brought him back to reality as his gaze landed on the shop entrance. And there he saw him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Kagami woke up with a slight headache to the light filtering from the window. Rather than getting out of bed immediately, the redhead chose to stay for a while with his eyes close, waiting for the pain to subside and the senses to come back to him. His ears took in the sound of slight snore and muttering of his son, who must still be sleeping peacefully. He twitched his fingers, feeling the soft downy material of the duvet under his palm. The slightly cold air in the room caressed his skin, having a soothing effect on his aching head as he slowly opened his eyes to take in the surroundings. The sight greeting him first was the stuffed panda's nose being placed very close to his face, which made Kagami assume that his son had, in the middle of the night, unconsciously switched to hugging his pillow. And he was right. Daichi was embracing the pillow on which his head was supposed to be placed on. Kagami chuckled and then, slowly crept out of the bed for fear of waking up his son.

After stretching his arms to warm up his stiff muscles, Kagami proceeded to perform his morning routine: brushing his teeth, washing his face, changing his clothes, and then descended the stair to enter the kitchen to start preparing breakfast and food for his business. Today was Saturday, which meant the shop would serve its guest until afternoon and close at 2:00 PM. By the time Kagami finished making breakfast- a Western-style one with "sunny side up" egg, bacon, toasts and orange juice, it was half past six- the usual time he began making food for the bento. Once checking the menu for the day and the ingredients in the freezer, Kagami wasted no time to prepare for his business. With skills he had honed from working in restaurant in America, Kagami easily maneuvered himself around the room, selecting ingredients, handling cutlery and making basic dishes. Although the redhead greatly enjoyed cooking and didn't mind working hard, preparing a large amount of food for a business in a stuffy hot kitchen never failed to make him drench in sweat and tired, despite it being winter outside and him having done this job many times. By the time the rice cooker switched to "Warm" mode and some dishes were placed into their respective containers, the clock had turned to half past seven and Kagami wiped off the sweat with his towel and replenished himself with water. The shop wouldn't open until 9:00, so he still got more than an hour to have breakfast and finish his tasks.

"_Maybe I should go up and wake the others up for breakfast"_, Kagami pondered but in the end, decided against the idea. They had stayed up very late last night and moreover, today was Saturday, so it was best that he let them oversleep a little bit. He could always reheat their breakfast by the microwave anyways.

Deciding that his breakfast could wait until he had put out the trash and that he should take a break from the stuffy atmosphere in the kitchen, Kagami proceeded to take the garbage bag outside, although his instinct told him that he shouldn't do that. Ignoring his hunch, the adult stepped out of his house, and there, he finally understood the reason behind the protest of his instinct.

Standing outside was none other than Aomine Daiki-the last man Kagami would ever want to meet to begin a new day.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-o0o-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Scarlet and indigo, two colors clashed each other in the gray lifeless background of winter. However, it seemed that scarlet didn't want to be in the presence of the indigo while indigo tried to catch up with scarlet.

Despite having mentally prepared himself for his confrontation with the redhead, now that Kagami was right in front of him, Aomine couldn't help but feel a sense of dread creeping up his mind, forcing him to stay rooted to the ground. As for Kagami, albeit being initially taken aback by Aomine's presence, he quickly returned to his composed state and casually walked past the bluenette to where he always put his trash bags, acting as if Aomine wasn't even standing there. Kagami put the plastic bags into the big trash containers of his area, sorted them into their respective categories and once he finished, the redhead calmly walked past Aomine again back to his house. He was so gonna lock the door after this!

However, the bluenette wouldn't have any of this. Apparently, seeing Kagami about to slam the door in his face had freed his body from its motionless state and the young police took this chance to dash towards the entrance with all his speed and grab Kagami's arm just in time. He had come all the way here and waited in the freezing cold for freaking half an hour (it was not such a long time and winter made it look like a day to him) and there was no way he would return empty-handed.

"Kagami, wait. Please, I need to talk with you", Aomine said pleadingly.

Kagami narrowed his eyes in contempt, his entire facial expression blatantly screaming "Get your hand off me", which made Aomine gulp nervously.

"Aomine-san, would you mind moving away from me a bit? You're invading my personal space."

"No, not until you promise you will have a talk with me". Aomine steeled his resoluation and looked straight into Kagami's eyes.

For a moment, Kagami deliberated whether he should just punch this guy so hard that he got sent to the hospital, but, in the end, chose not to. His brother was right; sooner or later, Aomine would come to him for whatever reason the scoundrel thought justifiable for his action and this time, he had to settle everything, including anything involving with his shameful past, with his own hands once and for all.

Glancing back the door to make sure there was nobody behind, Kagami turned his cold gaze to the bluenette's face and spoke with an equally cold tone.

"Alright. I will talk with you. After all, there are things I need to make clear to you."

Unknown to Kagami, on the first floor, a pair of eyes had been watching two men since the beginning.

_**TBC**_

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**Does anyone see the symbolism I used there ;)?**

**Anyway, don't forget to leave me a review once you finish reading the chapter;). The more review I receive, the more inspiration I have.**

**See you soon!**


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